St Mark’s Basilica in Venice – Opening times 2024

What are the opening times of the St Mark’s Basilica in Venice? One of the most beautiful churches in Italy, built by the architect Domenico I. Contarini in Venetian-Byzantine style, often impresses visitors from the outside, when your glance wanders over the five large domes and the decorated cathedral arches.

✅ Opening hours: St Mark’s Basilica is open every day from 9:30 to 17:15. On Sundays and holy holidays, the basilica is only open to visitors from 14:00. The museum, the golden altar and the treasury are also open from 9:30 to 17:00. The Campanile is open from 9:30 to 21:15 (Last admission: 20:45).

✅ Important information: regardless of the opening hours, there is unfortunately always a risk of long waiting times for access to the Basilica of San Marco. If you don’t want to waste too much time and don’t want to miss this unique Venice sight, you can also buy the priority tickets.

The layout of the church consists of a Greek cross with two aisles, over which a large and four small domes extend through the blue sky of Venice. It was extended through the porch on the north side of the church in 1204. Moreover, the simple building brick was enhanced by a pillared facade on the western front.

The church shines from the inside in all its glory: there are mosaics, pieces of prey, columns, reliefs, as well as sculptures and goldsmith works in various materials containing oriental patterns. The mosaics alone are spread over a total area of 8000 m². The murals of “Christ as Universal Ruler” and the “Apocalypse” stand between the apse and the exit.

The walls of the transepts tell the stories of Jesus’ parents. The construction and decoration phase of the basilica did not end until the early 17th century. Today, the year 1617 is known as the completion date.

When can the St Mark’s Basilica be visited?

Attention* – As part of a visit, persons in possession of a ticket to avoid queues are requested to arrive at the entrance at least 15 minutes before the indicated time.

Last admission, opening hours on public holidays and duration of stay

The last admission is always 15 minutes before the end of the official visiting times. St Mark’s Basilica is open all year round. There may be some restrictions during church services on important religious holidays.

The Basilica di San Marco is not only impressive from the outside but especially from the inside. That’s why there are always long queues in front of the St Mark’s Basilica due to the free admission. Therefore, you should make sure not to miss the time for the last admission by waiting in front of the Basilica.

The duration of stay in the Basilica San Marco can vary. Of course, it is possible to get an excellent overview in 15 minutes, if you want to discover much of Venice. Otherwise, the duration of stay is unlimited.

Best time for your visit

A visit to the Basilica di San Marco is a MUST SEE for every Venice trip. The lagoon city is a year-round destination and always crowded except for a few days in winter. Venice is expensive and many visitors come only as day-trippers. Cruise liners dock at various cruise terminals in the morning.

Thousands of cruise travellers hurry to have a view of the most famous attractions so as to be able to return to the ship in the evening before the ship sets sail. That’s why the number of visitors to St Mark’s Basilica is from 10:00 or 11:00 am the busiest and waiting times around these hours are also the longest. The queues start decreasing from 3 pm onward and before the last admission times.

Note: Entrance to the Basilica is free, but the only way to avoid the queue without a guide is to buy the ticket – Skip The Line With Terrace & Pala D´Oro Access –

Guided tours take place daily from around 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. So if you do not want to spend your valuable time in a queue and still want to discover as much of Venice as possible, you should join a sightseeing tour that basically guarantees admission without queuing at the booked time. An appropriate tour in German can be directly booked here.

Because the problem of long waiting times also applies to the adjacent Doge’s Palace and its famous Ponte de i Sospiri, the Bridge of Sighs, it would make sense to buy combined tickets, which will ensure the admission without waiting times for both sights.

Detailed information, suggestions, and offers can be found in St Mark’s Basilica sdmission fees.

If you want to visit the Basilica di San Marco without queuing and have it almost all to yourself, you still have the possibility of booking a sightseeing tour after the closing time of the ticket office – tours always available in English.

History of St Mark’s Basilica

The present building was built between the years 1063 to 1094. But there were already predecessors and interesting history of the church foundation. According to the legend, Venetian merchants brought Mark’s bones from Cairo to the city. They reported that an angel had talked to Mark during his lifetime and prophesied that Venice would be his final resting place. Venetians named Mark patron saint of the city and began the construction of his last resting place – St Mark’s Basilica.

The city’s landmark still exists today, St Mark’s winged lion. In 976 the first construction of the basilica and 200 adjacent houses were completely destroyed by a fire in the Doge’s Palace. At first St Mark’s bones were lost. The reconstruction of the church began in the same year by the Doge Pietro I. Orseolo. Today’s St Mark’s Basilica was commissioned by Doge Domenico Contarini. If you believe the story, the bones of St Mark were miraculously recovered during the reconstruction. This day was written into the history books of the city and the day was declared a holiday in Venice.

Museo di San Marco, Pala d’oro, Treasury – Opening times

Even the museum, gold altar and treasury of the St Mark’s Basilica is a church of superlatives! It keeps some surprises ready for visitors. Take a look inside the mighty structure and discover the history of the basilica in the adjacent museum.

As mentioned above, St Mark’s Basilica welcomes its visitors from Monday to Saturday from 9:45 am to 5:00 pm and it can be visited on Sundays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm after church service free of charge.

The admission to the adjacent museum is approx. € 5.00 per person. Taking a look into the sanctuaries of the church costs: Pala d’Oro 2.00 € per person and Treasury 3.00 € per person. Reduced prices for teenagers and children are available. Tickets are only available on site.

Campanile – Bell Tower of St Mark’s Basilica – Opening times

You will have the best view of St Mark’s Basilica from the platform of the bell tower. The campanile is located directly opposite the cathedral and offers a fantastic view of the lagoon city.

✓ Tickets can be purchased on site. It can get crowded at the lift to the St Mark’s Tower. If you want to enjoy Venice from above, you’d better get a ticket for the reserved entrance:

The combination ticket with the Doge’s Palace, which is also very close by on St Mark’s Square, is also practical.

Practical information and conclusion

More additional information about St Mark’s Basilica is available on my blog concerning St Mark’s Basilica visit and St. Mark’s Cathedral admission fees.

Most surprising is the free admission to the world-famous Golden Basilica. Only those who want to see more will have to pay between 3.00 € and 7.00 € at diverse attractions, but it’s worthwhile. This also applies to visiting the freestanding bell tower with the above prices..

There is a certain dress code required when visiting St. Mark’s Cathedral. Please do not wear shorts, skirts or sleeveless tops – shoulders should always be covered. For the usual security reasons, please do not forget to leave your bags and backpacks near the church in the official storage area of the Basilica.

For more information, see also St. Mark’s overview under practical information.

* All prices mentioned in this article are non-binding. It generally counts the current offer of the provider.